Toshie Saito　齋藤利江

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Her black and white images from the mid-Showa era (1950s) show a side of Japan that has been largely forgotten during the rapid growth of modern Japan. As a 17 years old she managed to capture the lifestyle and culture that was part of normal everyday life.

Toshie Saito

Born 1939 in Japan.
Started taking photos when she was 12 following her father who was the leader of the local photography club. She was an only child and her father took her everywhere including photo trips and drinking with his friends.

She came across the world of ordinary lives and poor but lively happy children down town. She always wanted to have younger brothers or sisters so she was attracted by little children's happy laughs and mischievous smiles.

She entered photo competitions when she was 14 and won the first prize beating all the adult entries including her father. Then again won the first prize in an All Japan students photo exhibition by a major newspaper. She continued wining many prizes during her school year, but her father's business went bankrupt due to his business partner's fraud when she was 17. Then she had to give up her dream to become a journalist to work in Tokyo. A few years later she married and her father suggested opening a camera shop.

Although it was a tiny shop, she thought this is the closest she would get to be a photographer. They had to work very hard day and night. Hundreds of prints to make and dry. Time went by and she raised 2 daughters and the business became a success. During this time she entered many competitions and won many prizes also raising her children to appreciate photography.

After her father died and her children had left home, With a heart broken she decided to divorce her husband as their values and life-styles had drifted apart. During this difficult time and with no future vision, she was doing a major clean up of her house when she found an old yellow tin- box written with the hand written words "Toshie's photos" by her father.

When she opened the box, she was in tears to find her old photos she took when she was a teenager, which she believed that her father had burned to forget her dream. She imagined that her father put her photos securely wishing her to become a photographer. She was encouraged and uplifted by her old pictures with full of children's happy smiles. She also realized that in the 1950's, they didn't have cars, TV, Cell phones and the life was harder than now, but people were lively and happy, caring for each other.

Looking at the children's smile in her photos, she decided to show her photos to young and old people in the modern world to remind we all have children's heart inside whenever we are, wherever we are.

Her dream to be a photographer came true and she was glad she didn't give up on her dream.
She has had many exhibitions including Nikon Salon Ginza 2001 and Osaka in 2002. History Museum in Gunma 2003.

Her photos have been featured on TV programs and in magazines.
Her works still continued to capture everyday life's little happiness including her 6 grand children.

Presently she re-shoots the same places that she took photos of in the 1950's to show how much things changed.

昭和14年群馬県桐生市生まれ。
日本写真作家協会（JPA）会員。
西中学校3年生の時、群馬県主催「赤城山写真コンテスト」で最優秀賞を受賞。毎日新聞社主催「全日本学生写真コンクール」で特選など、各種写真コンテストで多数の入選を果たす。
一人娘という理由から写真家になることを諦めさせられ、父親に全部のネガを没収された。
自分のネガは全て捨てられたものと思っていたが、亡き父の遺品を片付けている時、「利江のネガ」と書かれ厳重に缶に納められた自分のネガを発見。
昔の作品をニコンサロンの審査に応募し、入選。銀座のニコンサロンで写真展「わらべうた」を開催、ニコンサロン始まって以来の大好評を博す。
心が温まる、なぜかほっとする癒される齋藤利江の写真の数々は、テレビの討論会やイベントでバックで飾られたり、懐かしい イベントの数々に引っ張りだこである。